Format Berliner Founded 1977 | Editor Jesse Erickson | |
Type weekly college newspaper Owner(s) The Fairfield Mirror, Inc. Headquarters Box AA 1073 North Benson Road
BCC Room 104
Fairfield, CT 06824 | ||
The Fairfield Mirror (or The Mirror) is the student newspaper of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. It is an editorially independent, student-run publication that publishes weekly on Wednesdays during the academic year with additional issues during commencement and orientation. The Mirror staff has won numerous Excellence in Journalism Awards from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists. In 2013, the newspaper won second place in the Apple Awards category of Best Newspaper with an audience of fewer than 5,000 students.
Contents
History
The students of Fairfield University founded and published the first edition of The Mirror in 1977. The newspaper was founded after the merging of two prior publications: one produced under the supervision of the University (The Voice), and one published independently (The Free Press and Review).
The genesis of the change to The Mirror, was Ned Barnett. who as Editor in Chief of The Voice, was one of the driving forces to create an independent newspaper. In addition, the University was seeking to limit its liability from the publication of a student-run media outlet.
The Mirror's first Editor in Chief was Robert M. "Doc" Dougherty, who was responsible for the editorial content, and Frank Godfrey, the Business Manager, who was responsible for the paper's finances and operations as an independent, incorporated entity. The paper was printed by Stratford Printing, and delivered weekly to campus dorms, classroom buildings, and the Campus Center.
The online edition was founded in 2000, and it was the first partner to have a signed contract with the now ubiquitous College Publisher network of online student newspapers.
The Mirror incorporated full-process color in the print edition for the first time in the early 2000s.
Dr. James Simon had been the adviser of The Mirror since 1998, but the role was given to Associate English professor Tommy Xie in Spring of 2011.
The Thomas Moore Letter
In 1984, Editor in Chief Thomas Moore saved the newspaper from a threatened permanent cancellation connected to an April Fool's prank that offended many students on campus.
The item, published in what was at that time the annual lampoon edition called The Morron, made sexual references about a female member of the board of trustees.
The story had been written by an editor, apparently with no other staff members having approved its inclusion prior to publication. That lampoon issue was one of the final issues of the outgoing editorial team - editors who were wrapping up their terms. Moore was news editor and he was about to take over as EIC. The administration reacted by canceling its subscription to The Mirror, killing the paper's budget. Over the summer, the newly elected EIC Thomas Moore met with university officials and then submitted a letter to the administration promising better oversight for the paper and outlining definitive protocols in an effort to prevent another misstep. The Mirror subscription was restored and the practices established by Moore continue to this day, as every successive Editor in Chief must agree to the terms of the letter by means of a signed contract with the student affairs division.
2009 He Said/She Said controversy
In 2009 a controversy erupted over the recurring humorous columns He Said/She Said, which typically offer a male and female perspective on some issue. The October 1, 2009 issue's columns focused on best practices for conducting one night stands and the walk of shame at Fairfield. The columns (especially the "He Said" column by student Chris Surette) resulted in immediate controversy among students and administrators. There was a sit-in protest of students at the Mirror's campus offices, and public rebukes from the University president and from dean of students Thomas Pellegrino. Pellegrino informed The Mirror was that they had violated the ethical guidelines in the paper's funding agreement with the University, and that this funding agreement was "null and void". Later, a group of students sought disciplinary action against The Mirror claiming the offensive content in the "He Said" column had violated the school's harassment policy.
In its first issue of 2010 the Mirror announced that He Said/She Said column would be discontinued.
Excellence in Journalism Awards
Notable interviews
Over the years, The Mirror has landed interviews with many well-known entertainers, politicians, celebrities, and other notable figures in American pop-culture. More recently, they include...
Circulation and distribution
The Mirror is distributed at Fairfield University on Wednesdays during the fall and spring semesters. While the print circulation is limited to 2,500 copies, tens of thousands of alumni, parents, and other members of the university community read the Web edition on a regular basis.
Since 2005, The Mirror has been printed weekly by Trumbull Printing in Trumbull, Conn.
The Mirror is an affiliate of UWIRE, which distributes and promotes its content to their network.
Production
Weekly Routine
The Mirror staff meets twice weekly to discuss the week's issue and to plan stories for the following week.
Until October 2007, The Mirror had been produced (completion of all copy editing, layout, and pre-press processing) on Tuesday nights beginning around 5 p.m. and concluding as late as 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, the printer's deadline for timely delivery. That month, having found difficulty completing the pages on time due to unprecedentedly large page counts, the staff split production between Monday and Tuesday nights. Managing editors mandated that section editors complete 90 percent of their pages before leaving on Monday, leaving only last minute photos and deadline stories for addition on Tuesday nights.
When the staff finishes the paper on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, the editor in chief transmits the page files via File Transfer Protocol to Trumbull.
Pages are burned onto plates almost immediately and the press run of 2,500 lasts for about a half-hour. The finished papers are delivered to the Barone Campus Center loading dock by noon on Wednesday, sometimes less than six hours after file transmission.
The Mirror on the Web
The Fairfield Mirror
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